Advanced Z
by Varun Dhawan
Summary: With the Unova League behind him, Ash isn't home in Pallet Town for long before news of the Kalos region gets him out on a brand-new journey. What kind of new adventures will he find when some old friends decide to tag along for the ride?
**A/N:** _Alright, leaving lengthy author's notes in the first chapter isn't my style, however, I would like to clarify some stuffs. First, yes, this is a remake of a fiction I posted an year back or so. I was not satisfied with how that one turned out, and I felt that the earlier chapters were far too rough to be considered good. However, the said fiction was never completed, in fact it was far from completed, so I think it's not that big of a deal. Also, I'd also like to tell you all that while Advanceshipping is the main ship, it wouldn't be the main focus of the story, however will still be focused on and developed as the plot progresses.
_

 _Secondly, the chapters aren't just tweaked, but are completely reworked, including major changes in the plot. They are also far more enjoyable then before (In my humble and biased opinion), so I'd recommend my older readers to actually read the earlier chapters rather than skip them. Unless you want to be like "what the actual fuck is going on?"_

 _Lastly, I would like to give a big, big thanks to Lady Mayflower. She helped me out with this fiction an year ago, and if I've gotten better as a writer, she is certainly the one to thank. The best beta reader, for me, at least. Sadly, she seems to be inactive at the time. I'd also like to thank Yemi Hikari for helping me tweak the fiction and make it overall better.  
_

 _Also, I would like to add that I do plan on sticking with this till the end (unlike the previous one), and will try my best to update frequently. I do have college to deal with though, and life always happens, however I promise that if there would be any delays in updates, they won't be that long._

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 **Chapter 1 - Farewell, Unova!**

The night was serene. Sun rays had long since disappeared over the horizon to be replaced with thousands of glistering orbs. Light breezes teased the Opelucid City, with the luminous moon quietly sitting in the sky. Overall, it was quite peaceful... well, mostly.

With the Unova League tournament over, Ash and company were on their way back to Nuvema Town. The three friends were already quite exhausted by the time the night had settled in, and still had an hour or two to go before their next stop. Coming to the conclusion that taking a night break rather than venturing further into the forests would be the best option, the trio turned on their heels and headed back to Opelucid city's local Pokemon center, which happened to be their last stop, and luckily was only a few minutes away.

An awkward silence hovered over the center, the atmosphere was quite tense and the constant sound of crickets chirping paired up with occasional hooting from outside really weren't of any help. Even though the city was large and full of people, there weren't many trainers in the Pokémon center. With the tournament over, most of them had already left for home or stepped onto their new adventures.

Iris gave a deep sigh as she settled herself on the couch, her chin comfortable sitting between her palms. The troubled look across her face was quite obvious though, at least enough for a certain trainer to raise his eyebrows worriedly. However it wasn't the first time Ash had seen her like this recently, in fact Iris had been looking more and more upset over the past few days. He was pretty sure of the reason behind her mood, but he concluded that it'd be best to not bring up the subject…well, until now. "Why so down, Iris? Is everything okay?"

Peering back at Ash, the dragon user sighed once again, running a hand across her wild hair. She hesitated before speaking, "Nothing, really... I was just thinking about what's going to happen once we get to Nuvema, you know."

He called it. "Yeah... Well." Ash paused for a second, scratching the back of his neck, he knew where this was going, and he also knew that they were going to have conversation eventually anyway, even though it was sooner than he thought, he was prepared at least.

"Got any plans?" the trainer finally mumbled out, absentmindedly combing his hand through his starter's fur, who was soundly curled onto his lap after having a satisfying evening meal.

"Well, as for me, I was thinking about heading back to Dragon village for a bit, catch up with everyone, and then set off on my own journey." She paused, her voice turning a little cheery. "Still gotta get back on road to becoming the dragon master, you know."

"So, you plan on setting off on your own, huh?" Cilan echoed, putting the cup of coffee back onto the table after taking a satisfying sip. "In that case, I think it would be better if you head straight to the village, you'd get there in no time as compared to going all the way back from Nuvema town."

"Y-yeah, I guess..." Iris hesitated at that, her voice sinking yet once again. The excitement of setting off to pursue her dreams was certainly there, however it was currently overshadowed by the thoughts of saying her good-byes after all the time they had spent together. They all had their own dreams and had to follow separate routes to pursue them, she was well aware of all that, and she knew this day would eventually come, but... it was just too hard for her! After all the adventures they had been through, together, as friends... When she first left her village, she was so excited about going out on her own, but after spending all these months with Ash and Cilan... the thought of being alone just felt so outlandish.

Fortunately for her, the river of thoughts streaming through her mind was interrupted as Ash spoke up, the ever present grin gracing his features. "Hey, that's great! It might be hard, but mark my words; you _will_ become the greatest dragon user out there!"

"O-of course! Though I am not really sure where I would go from there, stay in Unova or some other region," she forced up a smile. "But, it's just that... I mean, I don't want to just say my goodbyes and leave... but I think it's the only way I can get better and stronger on my own."

"You got that right," Ash smiled fondly, Iris's words took his mind drifting towards a certain companion of his, however he chose to not ponder upon the thought for long. Instead, he turned his head towards his older friend. "Say, Cilan? What about you? Got something in your mind?"

"Me?" Taking another sip, the green-haired male gave it a brief thought. "I think I will head back to Striaton City, haven't seen my brothers for a long time now, and they probably miss me as well. Not to mention I have to get back to work if I am going to become an S-rank connoisseur."

"Striaton, huh? Looks like we'll be travelling together for a while, then. Isn't that right, buddy?" Ash asked, looking at Pikachu. The electric mouse just gave an excited chirp in response.

"It's kinda hard though..." Iris frowned. "We'll have to say good-byes after all the time we've spent together." She nestled her face in her arms, leaning onto the table. It had been months since they first met, yet it felt like just yesterday... it all just happened too soon, and it was just not fair. Glancing up at Ash, Iris raised a questioning brow. "What about _you_ though, Ash? Are you going back to Kanto?"

"Well," The trainer rested his hands behind his head, he didn't really give it a thought, however, the answer was still pretty obvious. "I guess so... I mean, that's the only thing I can do for now." he chuckled, looking at Pikachu. "But we'll find a new adventure before long, right, Pikachu?"

"Oh, why did I even ask? That's Ash for you." Iris smiled softly, resting her eyes as a yawn escaped her lips. "If anything, we should head back to _bed_ , would you look at the _time?_ "

Ash did just that, and admittedly, he was mildly surprised to find out that it was already past twelve. "Well, would you look at that. Sometimes the time just flies by, it seems," Cilan cut in before Ash could reply. "You're right though, better get back to bed. After all, we do have a long way to go tomorrow."

"Guess so," Ash mumbled out as he stood up, stretching his arms wide as his yellow companion dropped down on the ground, yawning as well to match his trainer. "I'm pretty tired anyway."

The trainer crouched down, just enough to let the small Pokémon hop onto his shoulder, before making his way toward the stairs. "Our room's on the third floor, isn't it?" Ash glanced back as he took a step up. Cilan nodded with an affirmative 'mm-hmm', before he and Iris followed him up to their room for a night of well-deserved rest.

The three friends turned in for the night, each curled up soundly in their borrowed beds. As the clock approached three, Ash stirred from his slumber. His mind was buzzing; he needed to get out of bed. Treading quietly to not disturb Iris and Cilan, he tiptoed out of the room and onto the veranda.

...

It was a cool, windy night; the swaying of trees and rustling of leaves could be heard. There were no clouds, leaving sky was clear as ever. Millions and millions of glistening stars endlessly dotted the vast sky. A bright, gorgeous full moon hovered in the shining firmament, bestowing its silver moonlight upon the land.

The trainer lifted his head up, closing his eyes as he felt the teasing touch of cold breezes, rustling his clothes. Countless thoughts were running across his mind, which included the dismal thoughts of leaving his new friends behind, but also the excitement of the new adventures coming up ahead. He also thought back to his previous companions, all of the other trainers he had traveled with over the years. He hated being separated from his friends, as much as he loved going on the new adventures. It always happened, but it didn't mean that he forgot about them. They were still his friends and always would be.

And it was happening yet once again... the Unova League wasn't exactly his most successful one, but he regretted nothing. He had learned a lot in his journey throughout the region, and met quite a number of strong trainers, but he knew that he had to move on now. The road to the Master was far from over, and he wasn't the one to stop before hitting the end of it. But like always, it was hard... he had grown quite close to Iris and Cilan, and separation would definitely hurt. He didn't even know when they would meet again...

The sound of tiny footsteps snapped him out of his daze. A sleepy Pikachu gave a squeaky yawn before jumping up to his trainer's shoulder. "Can't sleep either?"

"Pi," Pikachu nodded with a smile on his face, his gaze shifting towards the sky. The electric mouse didn't have to ask to figure out what his trainer was pondering upon.

Ash smiled, going back to looking at the stars. At least he still had Pikachu with him. He knew that they would never be apart, no matter what. "Hard to believe we'll all be splitting up soon," he said. "It's gonna be hard to say goodbye, but Iris and Cilan have to get back to their lives. And you and I have to get back to being Pokémon masters."

"Chu! Pikapi."

"Yeah. We've been gone for a long time; it'll be great to go home and see how everyone's holding up in Pallet Town."

He placed his hands in his pajama pockets. "It'll be sad to say goodbye to Unova, though. We've been through a lot here and made a bunch of new friends and rivals."

Pikachu gently nuzzled his trainer. "Pika pi, pikachu!"

"Yeah, buddy, you're right, we should get back to bed." Ash ruffled his already messy hair as he let out another yawn, before turning around to make his way back inside.

...

The morning glint greeted them as the three travelers walked out of the Pokémon Center, fortunately, none of them overslept. It was quite early, the entire city was glowing under its morning warmth, and the dew was still plainly visible on all the blades of grass nearby. Releasing an exhausted yawn of his own, a certain trainer stretched in the direction of the sun just shining its warm golden light.

"Looks like _someone_ here didn't sleep well. But that's to be expected; after all we're talking about the infamous Mr. Ketchum who tends to just _not_ wake up before the clock strikes ten." Iris shot a smirk in his direction, just to meet a grumpy, though rather exhausted face of Ash.

"Oh hush, it's rarely ever _that_ late. I'll be fine in no time."

"Pikapi..." The small Pokémon trudging behind his trainer released a sigh. He knew that even after they went back inside, Ash still couldn't sleep the entire night.

The three of them stopped in their tracks, just standing in the middle of grassland as the silence once again took over the place. Looking at anywhere but at each other, they all knew this was the moment. They all knew this was the moment to say their good-byes. For the final time. None of them knew when their paths would cross again, and if they would even meet again at all or not... but every one of them was aware of the fact that it had to be done one day, though the difficulty was obvious. A cold breeze whistled past the grass blades, stinging their faces.

After a couple of painful moments, Iris spoke up, breaking the silence, "I... I guess this is it..." the dragon trainer dropped her head, eyes fixed at her heels, she could feel a lump in her throat. With a rustling sound, Axew popped out of her hair, the obvious worry for his trainer reflected upon his face.

"Hey, c'mon, Iris. Cheer up, I am sure we'll meet again someday," Ash tried, he just wanted to lighten her mood, and he certainly believed what he just said, though when that would happen was another story...

"Y-yeah, of course we will, right?" Forcing up an obviously fake smile, Iris nervously twirled her hair.

Her disguise was not fooling Ash though, frowning, he just eyed her. There had to be something that could cheer her up... and finally, it came to him. "Iris wait!" The dragon user looked up. "I challenge you to a battle! You up for it?" **  
**

Cilan shook his head lightly as a fond smile grew on his face. He knew it would happen; that was Ash's way of cheering people up. Not that he could argue - it seemed effective enough.

"A Pokémon battle?" Iris blinked. Eventually, she broke into a smirk. "Hey, that's not a bad idea!"

...

Ash and Iris took their places on opposite ends of a small clearing they found behind the Pokémon Center. Ash seated Pikachu beside him as he pulled out a Pokeball from his belt. The trainer looked back up at Iris, his own smile meeting her usual confident smirk. Hand resting on her hip, and chin lifted proudly as her chocolate brown eyes taunted him wordlessly.. _Now, that's more like her_. Mentally chuckling at the thought, Ash exclaimed "Better be prepared, Iris, because I won't be holding back."

"Oh please, don't. Unless you _really_ want something to regret." The smug reply came from the other side as the dragon user grabbed a Pokeball of her own.

Cilan stood between them to act as referee. "Each trainer will use one Pokémon. When one of them is unable to battle, the match will be over! Go!"

"Go for it, Krookodile." Whispering to his Pokeball, Ash hit the latch, and with a blinding streak of light, the large, brick-colored power house emerged, roaring a mighty 'krookodile!' to make everyone aware of his presence. An identical grin broke onto his face, matching that of his trainer. His eyes fixed upon the opponent before him, ready to release her own Pokemon.

"I choose you, Dragonite!" exclaiming just that, Iris launched a Pokeball in the air. The bright orange dragon-type took over the skies, unleashing a roar just as loud to match Krookodile.

"Krookodile vs Dragonite! It's going to be a battle full of spice." Cilan smiled, arms crossed.

Both the Pokemon stared down at each other, just as prepared and excited as their trainers. Deciding to take the lead and commence the battle, Iris spoke up. "Go Dragonite, hit him with your Thunder punch!" not wasting another second, with sparks of lightning wildly dancing on his right hand, Dragonite released another ear piercing roar before launching himself down towards his opponent at full speed.

Krookodile made no attempt to avoid the attack, and within seconds, Dragonite rammed into the titan with full force, his fist firmly planting itself on his opponent's chest before exploding into big thunder sparks. Though both Iris and Dragonite were rather bewildered to find out that the attack didn't even faze the dark-type. Beside the barely visible mark on his chest, Krookodile appeared to be uninjured, and the huge grin on his face was just his way of telling that.

"Won't work, Iris. Don't forget that Krookodile's a part ground type, electric attacks would barely hurt. Gotta do better than that."

Iris just glared at Ash's smirking face before once again focusing back at Dragonite. The distance between him and Krookodile was small; she had to react before Ash does... _Wait! Ground-type... That's it!_ "Dragonite quick, blast his face with your Ice beam!"

"Not so fast! Krookodile don't let Dragonite escape, use Dragon claw!" wasting no more time, Krookodile tightly grasped Dragonite's arm with one of his claws, while the other began to glow bright blue. Before Dragonite could even finish charging up his Ice beam, the ground-type slashed right at his opponent's chest. The dragon Pokemon cried in agony, a big, glowing cut wound visible on his body. The impact of the attack in itself was strong enough to send Dragonite flying towards a small boulder, cracking it.

"Dragonite, no..." Her hand found its way to her mouth as Iris worriedly eyed her Pokemon, watching him struggle to get back on his feet. Not only Dragonite took a heavy hit to the chest, but the attack was also super effective, and the pain was clearly visible.

Unfortunately for her, Ash wasn't the one to slow down. "Now, nail him with stone edge," his trainer's command was all Krookodile needed, not wasting another moment, the ground-type roared as his body became surrounded in white energy, before coming off and forming into two rings of white orbs that orbited around the him. The light faded away, revealing the multiple gray rocks. Letting out a growl, the crocodile Pokemon fired them right at Dragonite.

"No, quick Dragonite!" luckily, the Pokemon managed to compose himself just in time. Spreading his wings, Dragonite swiftly ascended into the skies before the rocks could make contact, narrowly escaping another super effective hit. However the action also increased the amount of pain running across Dragonite's body... the Pokemon was clearly shaken, he was breathing heavily and sweat covered his orange skin, the effects of Dragon claw still visible.

"Nice, Iris!" saying just that, Ash once again looked back at Krookodile, both the trainer and Pokemon exchanged glances. "Alright, Krookodile, we're going to try that move. Stone edge!" nodding at his trainer, Krookodile locked his eyes back at Dragonite. Familiar white energy orbs appeared around him, soon turning into hard rocks as they continued to dance wildly across his body.

"It won't hit," Iris warned calmly, though still well focused on the battle, the cocky smirk on her face was no longer present, but instead it was replaced by a rather stern, concentrated expression.

"It isn't meant to," that didn't seem to be the case with Ash though. With his characteristic confident grin still on his face, the trainer pointed at Dragonite. "Now, Aerial Ace!"

 _What?!_ Iris's eyes widened in shock, watching the titan let out a roar before jumping up into the air, then spiraling towards Dragonite at blistering speed, the rocks still orbiting his body. Thankfully, Iris was quick to break out of her daze. _It's too fast, can't dodge!_ "Dragon Rush!"

Gritting his teeth, Dragonite gave a roar of his own. With his horns glowing ocean blue, dragon-shaped energy soon embraced his body. Acting quickly, the Dragon beast charged towards the oncoming foe. Both the Pokemon clashed in the middle of the sky, resulting in a huge explosion, kicking up a cloud of smoke which completely covered the field.

Cilan raised an arm to defend against the smokescreen taking over the entire ground. _Clever!_ The Pokemon connoisseur couldn't help but smile as his own voice echoed his mind, _To use Stone Edge in such a way... not only it protects_ _Krookodile from harm while using Aerial Ace, but also boosts the power of the attack in itself!_

Both the trainers shielded their faces with their arms, however their eyes remained focused on the battle field. As the smoke cleared out, both the Pokemon could be seen still standing, staring down at each other. The scratches and injuries were all over their bodies, both seemed to be exhausted, though neither wanted to give in, not yet.

However, one thing was out of place. A dark aura whirled around Krookodile's body, completely surrounding him. There was a reddish glint in his intense black eyes, visible even through his characteristic sunglasses. The ground beneath the titan's feet cracked as he let out a massive, earth-shaking roar, taking both the trainers and Dragonite by surprise. "W-what is going on?!" Iris exclaimed from the other side, while Ash quickly reached out for his Pokedex.

 **Anger Point. Krookodile's hidden ability. When a Pokemon with this Ability takes a critical damage from a single blow, Anger Point maximizes its Attack power, raising it drastically.  
**

"It makes sense. Krookodile was already charging up towards Dragonite with great speed, thus the damage he received from Dragon Rush was further boosted, the same can be said for Dragonite. But in Krookodile's case... well, who would've known he had such an ability like Anger Point. This is turning out to be a really spicy battle indeed!" Cilan commented from the sidelines.

"Anger Point..." Ash mumbled out, mouth ajar as he worriedly glanced back at his Pokemon. The trainer clenched his fist, his mind drifting towards memories he thought he had forgotten... fiery flames..blood red, chaotic eyes... confused, painful expression.

Krookodile snapped Ash out of his thoughts with a growl. The trainer shook his head, looking back at the Pokemon before him. The ground-typed stared back, completely still for a moment, and Ash could feel his heartbeat raise until Krookodile's features relaxed, a reassuring grin breaking onto his face. The Pokemon let out another growl, letting his trainer know that he was still in control, and very well prepared for his command.

And that was just the response Ash needed in order to break into a smirk of his own. "Alright, I gotcha buddy, let's do it! Aerial Ace, full force!"

Roaring, the ground-type took off into the skies, cracking the ground even further as he made the jump. With one swirl, Krookodile was charging towards Dragonite at full speed, the dark aura still wildly dancing across his body as he made his way towards his opponent, sharply cutting through the wind.

Iris bit her lip lightly, the attack was not only fast, but extremely strong this time, and there was no easy way out. She had to go for Dragon Rush once again and hope for the best... but she wasn't sure if it would be enough... "Quick, Dragon Rush!"

The orange dragon cooed weakly, shutting his eyes while his horn released bright blue energy, shaping into a dragon which surrounded the Pokemon's body. However, to Iris's surprise, the light continued to grow, chaotically jutting out around him, getting more and more intense before it finally turned blood red, wildly streaming across the air... like a dragon enclosed within flames. "That... it's Outrage! You learned Outrage, Dragonite!" the dragon-type let out another roar before charging down right at Krookodile.

Both the Pokemon rushed at each other with everything they had left. They clashed mid-field in a heated explosion of dragon energy and slicing wind. Their auras collided, right before another earth-shaking explosion coated the field in another smokescreen of debris.

The trainers couldn't help but close their eyes and step back. The smoke started to slowly drift away, revealing two shadowy figures... and only one was still standing. Gasping, Ash and Iris once again locked their gazes at the battle field, impatiently waiting to see the outcome. What followed next was a wide grin taking over Ash's face. Krookodile was covered in scratches and wounds all over his body, he breathed heavily, but his feet were steady. The titan refused to give in.

His face pointing towards the sky, letting out a roar full of pride.

Cilan sighed before checking on Dragonite, who showed no movement at all. "The battle is over! Dragonite is unable to move, Krookodile won the match." with that said, he rose his right hand, pointing towards Ash.

"Krookodile!" the trainer echoed as he ran up to the ground-type and tackling him into a big hug. Despite the wounds, the injured Pokemon happily rejoiced with a growl of his own.

"Return." Meanwhile, the fainted Pokemon disappeared with a streak of light. Iris smiled fondly at the Pokeball in her hand. "Dragonite. No regrets, they were strong. You did great..." she then sighed, looking back up at Ash, who was still in the middle of relishing his well deserved win with his Pokemon. ... _And you too._

With Krookodile back into his Pokeball, both Ash and Iris met in the battered remains of the field. "Well, that was a refreshing one, Iris. Close too, Dragonite did really well."

"Mhm, and next time, I am going to be the one winning, kiddo." Feeling her cheeky grin widen, Iris gave Ash's hair a ruffle (ignoring resultant grumbling as he swatted her hand away.)

"Yeah, that was excellent, guys!" the older male walked up to them, placing his hands on their shoulders before they could manage to engage each other into another one of their usual arguments. "A very good battle, full of tasty ingredients indeed. Like a stewed chilli with an assortment of the spiciest berries and peppers!"

...

The sky was dyed pomegranate pink, the ground was warmly lit by the sun trying to rise the last of its amber limbs. After getting Krookodile and Dragonite to the Pokémon Center, the trio stepped out, glancing up at the sky. The fiery, golden orb was surely about to sink into the horizon in an hour or two at best. Thankfully for Ash and his friends, neither Dragon Town nor Ash and Cilan's next stop was that far away.

"Well, guess this is goodbye till we meet again." the dragon user sighed, breaking her eyes away from the fiery orb as she looked back at her friends. She was still obviously upset, but Ash was glad to see that she had a genuine smile gracing her face as she spoke. "Can't wait for that to happen, though."

"Yup, totally. And something tells me it won't be that long." the trainer gave a small chuckle.

"Not to mention we still have to rematch, Ash. So I can beat you fair square." she added with a mischievous gleam in her chocolate orbs.

Ignoring the jab, Ash just smiled back. "Iris," the trainer said, raising his hand into the air.

"Ah-ha." Iris raised her arm, too, before giving a final high five.

They wished each other good luck in their upcoming journeys, then parted ways for the final time. Ash and Cilan went on their way to Striaton City while Iris went to the opposite direction, toward the Dragon Village, carrying the dream of becoming the greatest dragon master ever.

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 **So, that's about it. Don't forget to leave a review and critics, like always, are most welcomed** **.**


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